However, some see the buyout as more than what it is announced to be, arguing that this transaction is the beginning of a Dell courtship of AMD. Because of the nature of the wholly owned subsidiary relationship, Dell will not likely violate any agreement it has with Intel–truth be told, not much is known about the Intel-Dell relationship. Some view Dell's acquisition of Alienware as a way of acquiring well skilled AMD system integrators without angering Intel, which has long been rumored to give Dell significant volume discounts in return for exclusivity.

While I have no idea of Dell's intentions, some Geeks have noted in our forums that if Dell had true AMD system intentions it should have moved on them in 2004 and 2005, when the Intel to AMD performance deficit was greatest. Now that Intel appears to be on the verge of catching up on the gaming performance front, and perhaps retaking the performance crown, it does seem strange that Dell would want to embrace a second supplier for those reasons. It does make some sense to get a second supplier for negotiation purposes, or even supply concerns, though. Let's face it, the chipset shortage hurt Intel on the retail side, and could have potentially hurt Dell if the shortage were bad enough.

However, others view the Alienware acquisition as a way of buying a niche competitor that has won over a wide and loyal customer base willing to pay a little more for their machines. Certainly Dell might be eyeing the profits and salivating at the opportunity to grow that small part of the market. Nevertheless, now that it's official that Dell will have a subsidiary selling Athlons, I hope tech writers around the 'Net will have something better to write about than the never-ending rumor tower regarding Dell's plans to sell AMD systems.

Perhaps Dell will push some of its supercoupon.com deals into the Alienware pricing structure as well. That'll be sweet.

Aquire?(2:11pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)Well, it is an interesting move. It is like Ford acquiring Ferri The Ford owners will be happy because the price may come down (Quality too?) The Ferri owners will not because the reputation is lost. I say go with a Hypersonic PC! It is incredible the nvSLI with a 64 AMD. However you loose the RAID capabilities which is not so cool. – by Can't spell

damn adverts(2:31pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)well I hope they do use amd's so I don't have to listen to that bloody annoying intel jingle everytime a company advertises a pc with the P4 chip, seriously pee's me off! – by Rusty

Why(2:47pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)It's simple. Alienware was bleeding sales from Dell. Now it won't. Dell could care less what CPU is in an Alienware box. – by Insider

ferrari & quality(2:50pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)not that great, there is something to be said about standardized parts.

Having the fastest systems could give their bottomline a boost. Similar to win on sunday sell on monday.

– by good business move

Hmmmm…..(2:54pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)I couldn't help but think how this would dilute the Alienware brand name.

Also, this may be cheaper than paying out a lawsuit against AMD and fines for violating the law by being exclusively Intel. – by Cynic

*snip* “It will come as no surprise to many of you that Alex and I have had the highest level of respect and admiration for Dell since Alienware is committed to the virtues and efficiencies of the direct business model since its inception. We have similar employee cultures — we both employ individuals who are passionate and like to win.”

Not even going to want to buy an Alienware, letalone a dell PC now.

– by Headley

I want one of those(3:54pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)ASAP :)

– by c.h

Get over it(3:57pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)Come on how many times have we had posted articles on Dell using AMDs? I have forgotten as its so many. I swear this is just a fall back subject when they have nothing better to talk about. – by

Barto(4:13pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)If it can be shown that Intel has an exclusivity agreement with Dell, it is a violation of US anti-trust laws. I posted on this a long time ago. Basically if Intel is threatening to take certain actions (like with pricing, availability or support) if Dell uses AMD, it is illegal in the USA. Sherman Act, I believe. – by Cynico

whoodido(4:33pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)I will start alienware part 2. take that dell. – by won't be called a2

fanboy idiots(4:58pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)Dell could care less whose CPU they sell in their boxes as long as they make a profit.

Furthermore, wholly owned subsidiaries are every where. Panasonic is a wholly own subsidiary of matsushita, Ferrari is a subsidiary of Ford, and Crysler is a subsidiary of Dalmer, so is Mercedes Benz.

The only reason they leave the names on these companies at all is so they don't loose the loyalty of fanboy idiots who only care about the name on their product for sentimental and political reasons. They play you for the fools that you are. – by reality

WOW(6:41pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)I'm impress that dell would stup so low as to buy Alienware. It's not so much as a bad thing as already stated by many other it's just a way for the to sell AMD. What gets me is that they have gone from selling no AMD systems to RETARD OVER PRICE AMD systems. I understand that I dont have to pay for these systems and I dont. With going to computer shows and buying parts online I can build the same system that they offer as HIGH END for less money. OK sure it wouldn't have a mgf warranty but hey if I build it I should be able to fix most of the problems. If they are hardware problems then I can just AMA then anyway. So if someone can tell me why I would same 6k on a computer other then the cool factor go for it. – by AMD owner.

Here is a fine example of the clear and unbaised thinking that the best geek.com posters exhibit.

Do I care about the quality, the product, the benchmarks, or anythign concrete? No if it is Dell it sucks, anything and anybody they touch is $hit now that it is part of Dell. Before they were gold, but now.. well you see the clear unbaised logic – by Not a retard like…

Chrysler / Mercedes and Dell and Alien(6:53pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)Look what happened to Mercedes when they bought Chrysler. Since then the have that fancy new E class that comes in worst in class for reliability. Looks like mereceds got all of chrysler's quality and engineer in germany now…

What will happen to dell. I hope they don't let that fanboys stupid AMD idead get to far. Or they will end up like Apple did when they hitched their future to PowerPC and IBM/MOTO.

The AMD fanboys have been crowing about how there was AMD shortage because they was getting ready for Dell. Then Dell was going to use AMD for their servers, or better.

Is this it? What a joke on them fanboys. This is so little news. No change. Dell ain't ever moving their main lines nor volumes to AMD. Why should they, AMD has no long-term viable business roadmap. With Conroe release in 2nd half they will be a fighting for loss leadership again. – by Dell with AMD… LOL

I like girls not aliens(9:37pm EST Thu Mar 23 2006)Dell is fine, it helps me get laid – by Lexington Steele

It's all's Intel doing(5:15am EST Fri Mar 24 2006)All the top gamer boxes being sold have AMD inside, so what's Intel to do…what else, if you can't give Mr Dell any more discounts you buy him a store where he can sell more. How much you want to bet in 6 months Aleinware is all Intel?

Conroe…. Pfftt it's a paper launch to try and save Intels face and stockholders from fleeing, wake up! – by Conroe is fake!

(5:23am EST Fri Mar 24 2006)Donít worry Intels new chips look as if they were going to be the top dogs anyhow. So unless AMD have something quite outstanding in the wings to release soon that we all donít know about I donít think Dell will even consider selling AMDs directly. – by

amd stinks(5:57am EST Fri Mar 24 2006)i know i got bilked on one.and will never go back again……. – by long live pentium

not so fast my friends(9:17am EST Fri Mar 24 2006)“…niche competitor that has won over a wide and loyal customer base…”

It remains to be seen if they will keep that same reputation and in turn retain that customer loyalty now that they have sold themselves to Dell. I for one will be reluctant to purchase another AW until I see how this plays out. – by ConcernedAWowner

Loyalty(9:48am EST Fri Mar 24 2006)Who cares about gamer loyalty? It like saying keeping the Porsche fanatics loyal to their beloved 911 is somehow important in the larger world order of cars, it ain't

So neither is the loyalists of Alien to AMD or INTEL worth anything. 90% of all mergers result in nothing, this will not be the 10% kind.– by Jokes on the Aliens

AlienWare Is CR*P(10:33am EST Fri Mar 24 2006)I purchased a liquid cooled PC in January. The webpage says it is “quieter than a mosquito”. However, they put in a power suppy that makes noice like a wind tunnel. They also forgot to include my sound card in their “200 point QA process”. I can't believe how noisy the machine is. Customer support said, “yes, it is a noice machine, that is normal.”

I sent it back and had agreement they wouldn't give me a restocking fee. Guess what? They charged me a restocking fee. I have talked to them many times, no love (& no brains).

Guess what? Since I since the PC back, they will *not* allow me to talk to a manager to complain. I have tried many times. They have $700 of mine but they will not let me talk to a manger. The customer service people can't give me the same story twice. I have sent them a registered letter which shows their claims on their webpages. I have only received silence.

Don't Buy AlienWare!

I have bought from Dell many times with good support. Now I am concerned about future purchases from them. – by Anti-Alien

AlienWare is a ripoff(12:34pm EST Fri Mar 24 2006)Way over priced for AMD systems. You get a cool looking case for a 33% over charge.

JG – by IgnoranceIsBliss

w/ Dell's purchasing power Alienware should get cheaper(12:50pm EST Fri Mar 24 2006)Dell is notorious for beating the lowest price out of their vendors. Now they will add AMD to that list.

Either that or Alienware is going to switch to the new line of Intel powerhouse CPU's and leave AMD altogether.

Given that Alienware sold such small volumes it hardly matters either way. – by CPU guy

Alienware(1:15pm EST Fri Mar 24 2006)Alienware is still here as strong as ever. People that get a new Alienware system today are still going to own the same awesome system, built by the same people as the new machine I just bought before this information became public. This wasnt done to destroy Alienware. Alienware is the leader in High Performance Gaming systems. And you cant get to that level unless your the best. If this brings Dell to that level overnight just by an aquisition, then so what. Alienware is still the best. It is still a Dream Machine. – by aurora

Bad for AMD(5:51pm EST Fri Mar 24 2006)I think this deal is bad for AMD. Unless Alienware pricing has always been the same, it seems like the AMD systems are much more expensive than the Intel systems.

Dell not only saw Alienware as a threat, but intel saw them as a threat too. Alienware was developing a stronghold of AMD based loyalty. Dell and Intel recognized this and decided it needed to stop.

I predict that AMD offerings will begin to suffer at Alienware and soon be gone altogether. The Intel-Dell relationship is much stronger than you may realize – and this is the result.

Watch what they do, not what they say!– by The Scavenger

Alienware(6:01pm EST Fri Mar 24 2006)I dont see where there is a problem. Im not going to hesitate getting another Alienware computer. People make their own decisions but they shouldnt let other peoples fear, whining, complaints stop them from getting what they want. :p – by aurora

Giggest threat for Dell(12:20am EST Sat Mar 25 2006)Biggest threat for Dell is not Alienware, biggest threat is Apple and Intel, which Dell have no way of stopping it. Apple is going to take away more market share from Dell than Alienware.

I predict that AMD offering will begin to grown and soon be bigger.

Watch what Dell will do as Apple coming out with Intel CPU, not what the Savenger thought. – by Get Real

Apple and INTEL.(11:50am EST Sun Mar 26 2006)The writing is on the wall.

INTEL ahead and pulling away

Apple: starting to gain serious momentum with the swith to what else INTEL chips

Dell: The big guy in boring computers. Not to worry boring but cheap computers are important and that is what most those that buy Dell want.

Alienware, that is for geeks who have no life beside masturbating to their computer – by A real Gamer